Heat whole peppercorns in water in a castiron pan.
Melt butter in another frying pan. Add celery and fresh bay leaves to the peppercorn water.
Gently saute onions in the butter til they are golden.
Soak chicken livers in cold water. (You don't know where those livers have been....) Drain them. Note that the unsavoury sinewy bits will be taken care of after cooking.
Add chicken livers to celery water. Cook them til they are a tiny bit pink inside. The ones in the photo aren't quite done.
Drain chicken livers (discard cooking liquid, celery, bay leaves and peppercorns) and cut away any parts of the livers that look like sinew or membrane... it's much easier to do this after the livers are cooked.
Put cooked chicken livers and onion mixture in food processor and whir til smooth.
Add cream, cognac (or rye whiskey - any liquor that has seen some oak aging), allspice powder, salt and pepper. Whir again to mix.
Remove blade from food processor. The mixture should be quite loose.
Add drained brine cured green peppercorns.
Stir the peppercorns in by hand. Stir in a bit more cream if the pâté seems too firm.
Spoon pâté into serving bowls.
Use the back of a spoon to smooth out the tops. Refrigerate for about two hours to set.
Add gelatine to the top of each bowl of chicken liver pate. Garnish with red peppercorns and fresh bay leaves. Tightly cover the bowls with plastic wrap. Put ribbon around the bowls that are for gifts. Keep refrigerated til serving time.
This pâté is fabulous with Melba toast, water crackers, crusty French-style or Molasses Fennel Rye bread
The recipe we use is based on a recipe in The Silver Palate Cookbook by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins, Workman Publishing, New York.
